Chinese Culture (General)

Source: Today, Friday February 10, 2012 New York ... The ancient Chinese...

Dear Anon, To the Chinese people, especially those who know the proper Chinese Tea ceremony will follow the sitting arrangements similar to the concepts found in the Ming Tang Wei. Under this concept, guests should be sitting west and the host should sit facing east. The location facing south is reserved for the king. While the guest of honour or the most eldest guest sit facing the host while the younger guest sits to the left of the eldest left and the next younger sits the right of the eldest. In the original ancient Korean ceremony is actually meant to sit four guests on one table. On the table for the tea ceremony, one would find:- 1. A tea-plate, 2. the tea-pot 3. F…

1. Find out more about the Nanking 1937 to 1938:- Unlike the holocaust in Europe of the Jews, few people have heard of the Nanking Masscare. Nanking then was the capital of China and within a short span of 6 weeks, 300,000 Chinese were slaughtered in sadistic ways. Click this link to find out more:- http://www.nanking.org/ Click this link for :- Another good starting point Some of the above links contains gruesome pictures of rapes, beheading etc... not for the faint hearted. For example, this gruesome picture shows a picture of a mutliated lady. Others were roasted, nailed to the wall etc.. Click here for picture of:- Mutliated lady who was tortured and raped. Clic…

Dear Anon, 1. Traditionally, it is common to find a pair of Lions guarding each side of a main entrance in China. 2. Here, many Chinese especially overseas Chinese have followed this belief and placed similar sets of lions on both sides of their main door. 3. One good example is the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank, where you find two bronze statues on each side of the main entrance. 4. While in China, these statues are carved in stone. But since Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank is in the Banking area (Metal element) it thus use Metal (bronze) lions instead of stone ones. 5. Usually, these lion guardians are simply statues and serves more to give an impression (to human beings) rather …

Dear Users, I have received multiple emails requesting an explanation of the importance of Kong Teck. Chinese Traditions: What does "Kong Teck (Gong De) 功德 Funeral Memorial" signify? 1. It is believed that this ritual brings blessings to the departed soul. 2. In the traditional sense, it is preferred that an individual passes away peacefully, free from suffering, rather than through a tragic or painful event. 3. It is believed that the guardians of the underworld are compassionate beings who come silently to escort the soul of the deceased to the afterlife. 4. Kong Teck, also referred to as 功德 " Gong De " in Mandarin, is a traditional r…

Mr Zhou Youguang died on 14 January 2017 at the age of 111years. He is attributed to romanized mandarin and in Singapore, I remembered clearly that I started Primary 1 has to learn the traditional strokes. In Primary 2 onwards simplified mandarin. And at the same time each of us received a booklet on Hanyi Pinyin. However, during that time for examinations this was not taken seriously. Some of us found it useful. As Hanyi Pinyin was great for the English speaking students who found difficulties in speaking the language. Rest in peace Mr Zhou Youguan! You made a signific…

Dear Anon, 1. Nowadays, with land scarcity, more people go for cremation. 2. The funeral procession remains unchanged till today. Instead of `bringing' the dead or leading him/her to the burial grounds by musicians clanging bells etc..., the dead is lead to the crematoria. 3. Usually a separate ceremony is conducted after the ashes of the dead has been collected. 4. The `dotting' of the eyes on the portrait is less commmon today. Few people follow this, as one would later have to continue `ancestor' worship i.e. place the portrait on an alter in the home. Offer incense etc... and prepare offerings during periods like Cheng Meng etc... 5. Burial sites such as the one show…

Dear Anon, 1. Based on my personal observations, this holds particularly true during the 15 days of the Chinese New Year. 2. It is essential to comprehend that according to Chinese beliefs, items should be given in pairs, not singularly. 2.1. For instance, when presenting an 'Ang Pow' or red packet containing money in a red envelope during Chinese New Year or special occasions like an elderly person's birthday, the amount should be in pairs like $2, $4, $6, $10, and so on. 2.2. This practice is rooted in the belief that odd numbers like 1, 3, 5, 7 symbolize "loneliness." 2.3. In Feng Shui, this principle extends to the arrangement of chairs at a d…

These are the key essence:- 1. Yes, I have also highlighted recently in a forum message reply that under the concept of Grand Duke; "he doesn't like people to disturb, him". 2. Thus, based on the above; then, it is prudent not to place a noisy wind chime at East sector; this year. In the first place, why tempt fate by doing so? Life not exciting enough for the person? Go ahead, MAKE his day. " Just remember the Terminator's famous words " hasta la vista, baby!" 3. In the past, had met some clients with rather crazy geomancers. I recall one case, many donkey years ago; that was around thirteen years (I repeat 13 years ago); 4. This new client was not happy with me; becaus…

In addition to my previous remarks, this message should be easily comprehensible to most Singaporean Chinese, with Hokkien being the predominant Chinese community. Teochews are also likely to grasp this message without difficulty. If you were to send it to a Taiwanese friend, it is generally acceptable, as most Taiwanese are either Hokkiens or have been raised with this language. However, if you send it to a friend from Hong Kong, it may not be as easily understood, since the majority of the Chinese dialect group there is Cantonese. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Haha it's cute.

The frontage of this government housing board flat is adorned with RED elements, including: - 2 large lanterns - 2 small lanterns - 1 large banner Several images indicate that many residents in this row of flats burn incense sticks as part of a spiritual practice. This is why there are "blackened ceiling" areas in the corridor. Contractors have covered these darker spots with white patches. It would be best if they repaint the entire ceiling to achieve a more consistent look.

This is the most colourful Qilin, one could get...

This photo was taken in Tampines, Singapore at around 7am in the morning. These elderly ladies are practising what is known as "Tai-ji fan exercises. It is interesting to hear the group of ladies flip the fan open together. The sound is like a "thunderous sound" of a platoon of soldiers standing at an attention! Why do the wrist exercise? Based on the Five Elements concept; flexing the wrist(s) is said to help improve one's liver and gall bladder. Usually, the exercise begins with the Five-element position and there is suppose to be two sets of routines each with six different stances. Did you see some of the ladies holding a fan?

Dear Anon, This reminds me of what my mum told me, since young that one should not wear `torn clothings' as it implies that one would become a beggar. As some beggars wear torn clothings. Again, this is a Chinese belief. More modern parents would not `blink an eye' if their children go out and purposely buy torn jeans as they are in fashion sometime back. Maybe these modern parents even actually worn torn jeans. I guess, many of us know that this conference: Chinese culture, there are really no right or wrong answers as it is routed in one's personal beliefs and experiences. Let me elaborate further on another example. Some parents belief that if they young e.g. talks fi…

This interesting article shares some light into the `history' or invention of the toilet bowl...

Dear Anon, 1. Yes, indeed, this is a popular belief that a home should not have too many `holes'. 2. Most importantly, the frontage of the house should have windows and main door in the right proportion ie. the windows should not be extremely large. At the same time, if the main door has sliding glass panels, avoid opening all the panels. Some houses have both sliding panels and main door. Avoid opening the sliding panels if you can. 3. Under commonsense approach, it is best to avoid having too many windows. This is to avoid, an unsecured home e.g. attractive to a `cat burgler' especially if the house is a corner house or there is a forest behind the house. Warmest Regar…

Dear Anon, The official Chinese site is: http://english.china.com/cdc/en/travel/0,1020,0,00.html Yes, tourists are allowed to visit China. In fact, China which has a 5,000 year culture is worth the visit if one is `young'. This is because, it is more advantages to visit China on `two feet' (or legs) than on a wheel chair as walking is part of the `thrill'. The only major complaint is the toilet facilites or `lack of it'. If one is interested one can visit Guilin, the beautiful landscapes where the Shapes and Form Feng Shui was said to have originated. There are many many more cultural and historical sites available... Warmest Regards, Cecil